Creative Director & Photographer · London
Portrait-led
visual work
for brands &
publications
Curated
Projects
15 years of international campaigns and editorial commissions. Every image made to hold more than surface.
London-based.
Portrait-driven.
Internationally active.
I'm Yiğit Günel, creative director, photographer, and founder of Cult Studio. I make portrait-led work for brands and publications, with a focus on clear visual storytelling. My practice spans photography, creative direction, and motion, shaped by what the brief needs and what will serve the story best.
Growing up in a separated family, I always searched for a place where I could be alone with myself and dream. At first, I hid above wardrobes, under beds and tables, or inside cupboards where I could fit comfortably. But it never took long for my mother or grandmother to discover the little worlds I had built for myself, places where I could hide and quietly watch the outside world. The only darkness I was never afraid of was my father’s darkroom, with its smell of chemicals and sense of magic. For many years, I wandered in search of that same feeling. Eventually, I found another room, one with a tiny hole through which I could see the world around me while remaining alone with my thoughts. Today, photography has become that hiding place. It allows me to look closely without interrupting, to observe people, society, and the relationships between them. I am drawn to quiet moments, ordinary lives, and the emotional spaces people carry with them. My work begins with watching, but it is never only about distance. It is also an attempt to understand, to connect, and to make visible what often remains hidden.
- Capital of Loneliness, Bursa International FotoFest, 2026
- Selfhood, Versus Arts, London, 2025
- New Photography, Alan Istanbul, 2015
- Cult Creative Meet-ups, ongoing monthly, 2024 - 2026
- The Photographic Aproach, EOG University, 2026
- Where to Start?, Medipol University, 2022
- Storytelling Through Photography, Istanbul Bilgi University, 2017
- Photographing a Rebellion, Ozcan Yurdalan
- Moscow Diary, self-publication
- Beyoglu Photographs, Photography Foundation
Crystal Apple 1st Prize (2016)
Cult Studio
a creative
solutions company
Cult is a creative solutions company focused on visual storytelling. We help brands build or reshape their stories through photography, motion, and creative direction — collaborating with specialist talent to bring ideas to life in meaningful, inspiring ways. Humble, yet sleek.
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